


Forever And You

by ImGroovyAndIKnowIt



Series: Nine Months and You [2]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Domesticity, F/M, I might like some angst, Laura's family still lives, The joys of marriage, but sparingly, family life, life with a newborn, this is still my feel-good story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-26 14:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30107241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImGroovyAndIKnowIt/pseuds/ImGroovyAndIKnowIt
Summary: A sequel to Nine Months And YouSnippets of the new Roslin-Adama family life
Relationships: William Adama/Laura Roslin
Series: Nine Months and You [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2213064
Comments: 19
Kudos: 28





	1. Three Months

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you all know, my plan is to keep throwing in stories until either you tell me to stop, or I run out of ideas...  
> (this doesn't mean that Halo is close to done, lords know how much we still have to cover!)
> 
> We ended Nine Months and You with the wedding a few months after Izzie's birth (unsure if it's gonna be 6 or 9, we'll see), but this first chapter will be before that (with the baby being three months old), because of reasons. 
> 
> Don't expect a big plot from this one, because this will just be me writing snippets of family life over the years, tackling some of the challenges, and just an excuse for domesticity! (also since there's no plan, this will have sporadic updates)

“Bill, do you know what today is?”

Izzie babbles some vowel sound in response, and Laura smiles at her daughter. “You’re right, sweetheart, but I want to know if daddy remembers.”

“Saturday,” Bill replies seriously, even though that’s not what she meant, and he knows it. “July 15th.”

“At least I know you haven’t lost your mind.” Laura shakes her head, plucking a piece of grape and putting it in her mouth. She chews it slowly, enjoying the sweet taste. “It can start early.”

Bill rolls his eyes at her. “But what day is it, then?”

“If you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you,” she says with a short laugh, lying back on the blanket they set on the grass. She looks up at the blue sky and Bill stares at her, an even more beautiful sight than the park in summer. The baby in his arms isn’t happy at the loss of attention and whines, her blue eyes stubbornly on her father. “Even Izzie knows,” Laura teases. 

Bill looks between his daughter and soon-to-be wife. Izzie is three months old, which, added to the nine months… oh. “It’s been a year, hasn’t it?”

“I’m surprised a man like you didn’t keep the day circled in his calendar,” Laura says, only partly joking.

“Says the one who doesn’t even remember what happened. The day you got on my nerves then?”

Laura turns her head to him, holding back a giggle. “That’s not all I got on.” 

“Laura,” he warns, glancing down at the baby who is very intent on grabbing his nose.

She huffs out a laugh. “She doesn’t know what we’re talking about. Relax.”

Bill still doesn’t look very happy anyway, so they stop talking about it. After a moment, Laura settles between his legs, leaning her back against his chest, arms wrapped around their infant daughter. He picks up the book they started -had to ease off mysteries so as to avoid turning Izzie into a serial killer- and starts reading, his deep voice lulling the baby to sleep and Laura into a deep sense of contentment. 

Sometimes, when Bill is away and Laura can't get Izzie to sleep, she calls him, puts him on speaker and lets him read to the baby. Most of the time, it works, and Izzie settles down. They think she finds it reassuring because of all the times he spoke to her before she was even born, but mostly, they’re just grateful for it. And Laura knows how proud Bill is of the clear sign of love and trust from his daughter.

Now, in the park, with Bill telling them about the adventures of a teacher and his cat and the gentle breeze making sure they don’t get too hot, Laura wants to close her eyes, but always feels hesitant to do that when holding the baby. The thought of a stranger being able to sneak up on them and snatch the little girl away makes her chest tight and her eyes well up. Her arms tighten subconsciously around Izzie who shifts in her sleep in response.

Bill places a bookmark in the book and closes it, then runs his hand up and down Laura’s arm in a soothing motion. “She’s fine. You can relax. You know I’d never let her out of my sight.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to deal when she goes to school.”

“That’s not for a few years. You’ll have time to be used to her being out of your control.”

Laura sighs. “I’m surprised I actually managed to leave her with the nanny when I went back to work last week.”

“You didn’t tell me how that went.”

“You didn’t make our Tuesday call, Major.” Laura twists her head enough to give Bill a look and he takes the opportunity to give her a kiss. “I promised I’d bring Izzie to the university at some point.”

Bill’s hand stops on her arm. “You’re going to parade our baby around like some curiosity?”

“She was born on a warship, Bill. She can handle it.”

“Commander Nash still holds it against me. You better not sneak onto the ship again, he’ll have you arrested.” 

“The only reason he didn’t last time was because of Izzie, so I believe you,” Laura hums, remembering something else Sandra said. “Oh, speaking of him. Remember when Josh said his uncle was a Battlestar Commander?”

Bill groans. “Are you serious?”

Laura can’t help but laugh at his reaction, which seems to frustrate him even more. “Next Saturnalia will be awkward. I already agreed it will be at our house. You better not be gone.”

“I wouldn’t miss Izzie’s first anything,” he says firmly. “Let’s go back to the issue of bringing her to work.”

Laura rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t aware this was an issue.”

“Did your boss see her? Does he still think I'm your ‘friend’?” Although his hands are too busy to be making air quotes, they are obvious as it is. 

“I'm sure I mentioned being engaged last time he was over and we frakked on the dinner table,” she deadpans. 

“It’s not funny, Laura,” he very nearly growls. 

From the tone of his voice, she realises he’s genuinely hurt, and after balancing Izzie on one arm, she strokes the back of his hand. “I’m sorry, Bill. You know nothing is ever going to happen between us, right?”

“As much as you know that it’s over with my ex, but it didn’t stop you from eviscerating her last week.”

He has a point. She did do that. No regrets, though. That woman needs to learn to stay in her place, which is away from Laura’s soon-to-be-husband. “She was being inappropriate.”

“She asked if we wanted to get a drink.”

“Yes, you and her? Not me.”

“I told you I wouldn’t go.” Bill says and stops arguing at this point, because they’ve had this conversation before already. However, he still doesn’t think bringing their child to Laura’s boss is a good idea. “But don’t let him see her. He’s a predator.”

“Now who’s dramatic? I don’t intend to leave anyone alone with her, I’m not crazy. It’s just to say hi. Don’t you want everyone to see how perfect she is?” Laura asks, playing on his fatherly pride. She’s not sure why she’s even fighting him on this since she’s fully intending on bringing Izzie to her colleagues for a quick visit when Mr Adar is not in attendance, but Bill has to tone the possessiveness down a notch.

“She is perfect,” he agrees on that, but never on the rest. 

They go home a while later, ending their new warm-weather tradition of spending Bill’s first afternoon back lounging in the park. They’re still getting used to the routine, and the fact that he got to spend the first month of Izzie’s life on the planet with Laura was incredibly welcome. After he found damage on the ship as Laura was literally giving birth and waiting for him, he got some sort of leave as the Battlestar spent a while in repairs.

After Izzie is put to bed and they have dinner, Laura lets Bill clean up so she can shower. Even with the students on summer break and no classes to give, her first few days back at work were draining. There was a lot to look at, a lot to deal with but a lot of the exhaustion came from lack of sleep, worrying about Izzie and the anxiety of being away from her.

After a few minutes of standing under the hot water, she feels hands on her hips pulling her out of her thoughts. Bill presses himself to her back, placing kisses along her shoulder. “So, a year since that day,” he says. “Does that make today our anniversary?”

Laura smiles, turning around in his arms. “That’s one way of looking at it.”

His mouth finds hers and she shivers under the hot water, looping her arms around his neck. She’s missed him more this week than any other time and enjoys the closeness. When his lips leave hers to trail kisses down her neck, she knows where this is going, and is wary of the discussion they’ll have about it. Of course she misses connecting with him in that way, but that’s not an option at the moment. 

“We could celebrate in the same way,” he says against her skin.

“I can’t.”

“I thought the doctor cleared you up?”

Laura feels a prick of irritation at that. “It’s too bad she doesn’t decide when we have sex.”

He detaches himself a little so he can look into her eyes with solemnity and stroke the side of her face, reassuring her. “That’s not what I meant, Laura. You’ll decide when you’re ready. I’m not interested in doing something you don’t want to. I just know you had an appointment last week, and you didn’t tell me how it went.”

“She cleared me up physically, sort of.”

Since having a baby, her view of her own body has shifted a little. It’s Izzie’s now. Her womb housed her for a while, her arms comfort her when she cries, her breasts provide the food she needs. Although Laura was relieved to hear it comes back eventually, she has little interest in sex at the moment.

“I know you have-” she starts again, trying to explain but Bill doesn’t let her. 

He knows her by now, knows what she wants to say, what she thinks he wants to hear. But he loves her whether they’re having sex or not, and is keenly aware of how her body still needs to adjust to the ordeal of growing a baby and giving birth. Becoming a parent is challenging in more ways than one, and the last thing they need is to try and shove their new selves back into old roles and expect it to work just as it did before.

“I love you,” he says with all the convinction he can muster so that she’ll believe it. Her answering smile makes his heart skip.

In the end, they find another way to celebrate their anniversary, one which includes the bundle of joy that started it all. They’ve grown so much in this first year - from irritating acquaintances, to allies in the face of the unplanned challenge, to couple afraid of taking the leap of faith into love, to a real, loving family that still tries to find its footing - and their life together is only just starting.


	2. Three Months II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this story is gonna be the most domestic thing ever... and me entertaining myself :D
> 
> This happens the day after the events of chapter 1

Picking up a book from the shelf, Laura sits down on the couch, taking advantage of the fact that Bill is here and can take care of Izzie to take a moment to relax. He’ll be gone again soon enough, so she’s happy to leave him with the baby work while she can. However, she’s not even through chapter one when the couch dips next to her and the small hand of her daughter comes into her field of vision. She looks up and sees Izzie sucking her other hand into her mouth. 

“I think she’s hungry,” Bill says, observing the baby in his arms. 

Laura closes her book and sets it aside, then places a kiss on the little fist that’s thrust towards her. “Do you want to feed her?” 

“You know how that went last time,” Bill reminds her. 

Laura shakes her head. “I told you I started work again. If she took it from the nanny, she’ll take it from her favourite person.” 

“Yes, she doesn’t have any issues with you,” he replies and she rolls her eyes.

The thing with breastfeeding is that Laura has to be with Izzie all the time, at her beck and call, which was fine when she was off work, but it has had to change now. She has to be able to be fed while Laura is at the university and can’t be with her, something that neither of them was happy about at first. And although she remains exclusively on breast milk, two weeks ago, they tried to give it to her from a bottle so that someone else would be able to do it. The first time Bill tried it, it didn’t exactly go well. Izzie got upset and categorically refused it even though they tried everything to entice her.

But since then, Laura’s heard tips and read a lot of advice on what to do. One of them is that she can’t give Izzie the bottle herself, because the baby will get confused. If Laura’s holding her at feeding time, she won’t accept to drink from that cheap knock-off for her mother’s breast which she knows is right there. Same thing goes for if she sees her, which has been a challenge. Laura has had to ask both her dad and the nanny for help, who were actually both happy to contribute.

Now that Izzie has warmed up to it and was able to stay for two full days with the nanny and to be properly fed, Laura is confident that Bill can try again. While not jealous, he wondered what it would be like to feed the baby, and have her look into his face as she sucked and swallowed like she did with Laura. And now, his wish is going to be granted. 

“Laura,” Bill still protests as she gets up and retrieves a bottle she’s stored in the fridge.

“Can’t hear you,” she calls back from the kitchen.

She warms the bottle under running warm water just enough that it can be close to her body temperature. Izzie might be fine taking her milk from a bottle, but if anyone tries to give it to her cold, she’ll kick up a proper fuss.

Once the temperature is fine, she brings it back and places it in Bill’s hand. “You’ll be fine,” she smiles confidently at him. 

“Is this the slow flow one?” he asks.

“Yes, don’t worry, she won’t get overwhelmed.” 

Suddenly, Laura remembers she wanted pictures the first time this would happen, and she all but runs upstairs to grab the camera. Ever since she used it to snap pictures of Bill’s promotion ceremony, this camera has recorded important family moments. The first picture of the three of them taken by a nurse on Galactica, Laura’s father meeting his first granddaughter, the first meeting with Izzie’s cousins. There’s no reason to be jealous of Bill’s ex and her photos anymore because Laura knows she’s won. She wins every day they choose to be each other’s family.

By the time she comes back with the camera, it’s already happening. Izzie has got on with the program and, too hungry to wait, is eagerly sucking on the nipple of the bottle. Bill’s smile is almost blinding in its force, and tears threaten to escape Laura’s eyes at the happiness that she reads on his face. She takes the perfect picture, which won’t be as blurry as her vision is now, before she sets the camera aside to settle and watch. 

“She’s perfect,” he says, keeping his voice quiet to avoid disturbing the baby whose eyes are fixed on his face. More often than not, he still feels like the man who had no idea what to do after Laura told him she was pregnant, the one who panicked at the thought of being a father; but in moments like these, it’s simply peaceful. 

When Izzie finishes eating and turns her head away, Laura retrieves her spot next to them and takes the bottle, putting it on the coffee table. “Wasn’t I right?” she asks softly. 

“You always like hearing you’re right, don’t you?”

“Because I often am.” She hums in agreement. “I think it’s good for you both.” 

Upon meeting him in daylight for the first time, or arguing with him at the doctor’s office, she never thought that he’d be such a caring father. She still remembers her early fears and prejudice against fleeters, that he’d frak everything that moves every time he’s on the planet, that he’d try to control her and her pregnancy. But the last year has flipped everything around, and now, Izzie has him wrapped around her little finger. 

#

Sandra and her family arrive in the afternoon to watch the C-Bucs game, and the impact of a toddler coming for her legs makes Laura stumble back. She bends down and picks up her nephew, but as soon as he sees Izzie in the living room, he squirms and wriggles to be let down. He loves being the oldest and making faces at his cousin, which amuses Izzie to no end.

They settle in to watch the game, but between Izzie babbling on her activity mat and the almost six-month-old twins squeezing their squeaky toys, it gets a little hard to hear the sports commentator. About half an hour in, the kids are put down for a nap in Izzie’s room, leaving the adults some time to actually talk to each other. And they know it won’t last long.

“All of them are sleeping. If anyone screams at the tv, you’re dealing with the cries,” Laura says seriously as she sits down on an armchair in the living room.

Sandra nods at that, sending a pointed look to her husband. “Right, Josh?”

“It happened once, love,” he defends. “And the C-Bucs are going to win, no need for screaming.”

“Wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Bill says. “Anders is out with an injury. They’ll have a hard time against the Panthers.”

“I forgot you were such a Panthers fan,” Josh grumbles. “Laura, really, what were you thinking?” he teases.

“I was thinking that his Pyramid team loyalty was the least of my concerns,” she replies.

Her answer causes Bill to smirk. “Sports didn’t come up during our first meeting. Not pyramid anyway.” 

“Really, Bill?” Laura’s look transformed to an unamused glare. “You don’t want me to mention it in front of Izzie when she doesn’t even understand but with them it’s fine?” 

“How are you going to tell Izzie you met when she asks?” Josh inquires, and it’s a question Laura thought she’d have more time to think about. What she does know, is that the truth won’t do until Izzie’s old enough to understand. 

“We’ll tell her we met at her aunt’s wedding,” Bill replies, grateful for the slight change of subject before Laura can think too much about it. It’s a good solution, and partly true.

Cheryl was supposed to be there today, too, but ended up saying she was too sick to come. It’s the second time that happens, and Laura keeps wondering if something’s wrong with her youngest sister. She might be able to drop by after work and check on her. 

During a break in the game, Laura gets up to bring snacks and Sandra follows her into the kitchen to help and cut the cake she brought.

“How’s it going with Izzie?” she asks. “Last time, you were worried you wouldn’t be able to go back to work. But Dad told me she took it from a bottle with him.”

Laura smiles at that as she fills the kettle with water, remembering their moment in the morning. “Bill fed her today before you arrived.”

“See, I told you it was nothing to worry about. She just needed a moment to adjust. It still comes from you, it’s still perfect for her. I do it all the time with the twins. I have to.”

“I know. Is that going to be our lives now? I get worried, I call you and you tell me it’s fine?”

“It always used to be me asking you for help. Now I’ll enjoy the big sister feeling.” 

“Except you’re still younger than me,” Laura points out. 

“Details,” Sandra shrugs. "Speaking of my favourite niece, didn't you say yesterday was your bang-iversary?" 

"Bang-iversary?" Laura's mock-offense is betrayed by the laugh that breaks out of her. They’ve both been too busy to see each other for longer than ten minutes for a while now, so it feels good, even with the bad joke.

"That's all I could come up with on such short notice." 

"But yes, it was. A whole year... feels crazy. You always fight with Josh about when your anniversary is, but I think it’s safe to say this is it for us." 

The look Sandra gives her is slightly dangerous, and Laura wonders what terrible pun she’s going to make again. “It is safe… but that’s not a real anniversary, because that’s not when you got your heads out of your asses and declared your undying love for each other.” 

“Yes, but there isn’t one day where we both thought that was it,” Laura argues, even though there was a day for her and she remembers it very clearly. Moving day, looking at Bill in this new house of hers that she badly wanted to be theirs. “And if you want a day of love, Izzie’s birth is when I agreed to marry him.”

“Oh I talked to Dad yesterday. Heads up, he’s going to call you. He wants to have all of us over for Colonial Day,” Sandra says, and there’s an air about her that Laura knows too well. She’s holding something back, something she knows Laura isn’t going to like. 

“And?” she prompts. "Spill it."  


“He thinks your fleeter will find an excuse to bail like what happened on Saturnalia.”

Laura groans. Why does her father have to be so stubborn? Oh wait, that runs in the family, doesn’t it? Saturnalia was an entirely different situation. Bill was on a long, kind of last-minute mission that he took so he could avoid Laura and their feelings, not her family. “He’s got to be frakking kidding me,” she sighs. 

“I take it he’s also still mad about the spaceship incident.”

The spaceship incident. That’s how they’re referring to Izzie’s birth then. "He holds Bill responsible because of course, I can do no wrong. It’s always the evil military.” She rolls her eyes. “He told me if we have any more children, I'm banned from space travel." Despite the frustration, she has to resist the urge to laugh at the memory of that conversation. 

Sandra leans against the counter and looks at her curiously, "Do you want more children?"

"That's the farthest thing from my mind right now.” Just the thought of having more children makes Laura even more tired than she already is. “This one is a handful. I can't imagine two, or Gods forbid, three."

Sandra makes a face in agreement as she eats some crumbs that fell from the cake. "Yeah, we're done right now. I'm not getting any sleep for the next ten years. Or my body back. Josh told me he imagined himself with enough kids to make a pyramid team. So I told him he could carry them and then stay at home while I go to work.”

Laura wants to wince at the thought of having so many children, but she’s more preoccupied by the fact that she doesn’t know what Bill wants. They didn’t exactly have that talk before they got together to know whether their long-term visions align. They did it all in reverse. First, the child, then the relationship. “Gods, that’s a lot of children. Good that you told him that. I’d like to see him pregnant.”

Sandra bursts out laughing as she brings the cake back to the living room and Laura takes the mugs and teapot. Bill looks up when they arrive and smiles at Laura who sits down next to him.

“What’s so funny?” he asks.

She doesn’t reply and pats his stomach instead, prompting another round of laughter from her sister. Laura gives him a secret grin and feeds him a piece of cake before giving him the plate. He catches her lips in a too-quick kiss before she grabs her mug and finally settles in, checking the score on the TV.

When he leaves again the next morning, she watches him cross the threshold with Izzie in her arms playing with her hair, both of them already looking forward to his return. No, ‘her fleeter’ is not going to bail. It will still take a bit to fine-tune their dynamics, but they’re in it for the long run. 


End file.
